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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Etude House – Honey Cera Line Review

Along with the Snowy Dessert collection I reviewed last week, Etude House also sent their new Honey Cera skincare line. The line boasts the use of honey to moisturize, ceramides to heal and repair the skin barrier so as to retain moisture, and immortelle flower essence to firm. The trial set includes a toner, emulsion, eye serum, and a cream.

Now, Korea's winter is a bit dry (not as dry as Calgary's, but definitely dry enough to feel and see a difference in my skin). Not only that, but the dermatologist put me on a super low dose of accutane again as he thought my topical retinoid was too irritating. So basically, I have dry skin, with a compromised moisture barrier. The Honey Cera line should, in theory be perfect for me.

And, on it's own, it almost is. With a few tweaks, it definitely works for my dry, dehydrated winter skin. Add some moisturizing serums, to the mix, and my skin feels comfortable all day.

The toner is quite watery, and to be honest, doesn't feel that moisturizing compared to the Hada Labo lotion. Now, that's not to say it isn't moisturizing. After a shower, my skin usually feels tight quite quickly. Apply the toner, and that tightness disappears and doesn't return for a couple of hours.

Glycerin is the second ingredient, explaining the immediate relief upon application. As you may know, glycerin is a humectant and helps to draw water into the skin, so it will also help dehydrated skin quite a bit. The formula also boasts honey, royal jelly, and hyaluronic acid (all hydrating ingredients). Ceramide 3 is also quite high up on the list of ingredients, so it's definitely a good pick to help strengthen the moisture barrier. It does contain alcohol, but it's so low on the ingredient list, it doesn't bother me at all. It's $19 US on etudehouse.com. I'll definitely be picking this one up when I'm finished with my current toner.

The emulsion is another great product from this line up, and I credit this as the reason my skin stays comfortable for a longer period of time compared to my regular routine. While all the great ingredients (honey, ceramide, royal jelly, and various plant extracts) are lower on the ingredient list compared to the toner, glycerin is still high up, as are fatty alcohols. The formula is quite... sticky? I don't know how to describe it, but if you remember how snail creams used to boast about being super stringy, this is the same, minus the snail. Once you pat it on and it absorbs (quite quickly), it doesn't feel like there's anything on your face. I normally don't use emulsions as I'm lazy, and use a heavy cream instead. However, the added step has definitely made a difference. The emulsion and cream from this line don't feel too heavy together, and I'm curious to see how well it pairs with my regular cream (currently the Guerrison 9 Horse Oil Cream). It's the same price as the toner.

The Honey Cera cream is a heavier cream, without feeling heavy. I'd say it compares quite well to my Belif Moisturizing Bomb. Slightly less moisturizing and slightly heavier feeling, but at nearly half the price, it's a good substitute (I use the same amount as I did with the Belif, a good finger full). This is full of more occlusive emollients including fatty alcohols and jojoba esters to help seal all the moisture from your previous steps in. It's really basic, but it does the job, which is all I need in a cream. It's $24 US.

Lastly, the trial set includes the firming eye serum. It's a super lightweight gel that sinks in quickly and leaves a bit of a shiny finish. It helps to hydrate my under eye area (which is super dry right now). I have noticed a difference in the dehydration lines underneath my eyes. Minus the one I always have due to a lack of aegyo-sal, this got rid of the rest completely. Mind you, they really only show up if I'm not using proper eye care, so I don't know how well this serum would perform on more stubborn lines. The serum uses glycerin to hydrate, and niacinamide to help brighten and improve elasticity. The full-sized version also has a metal applicator tip, which is nice to help massage the serum in and reduce puffiness. To be honest, I normally just use whatever serums and moisturizers I use on the rest of my face around my eye area as well, but this helps to reduce my concealer from sliding off (and my eyeliner from smudging and mascara from running, because heavy creams around the eyes will do that to your makeup). I think it's definitely more of a summer purchase for me, when smeary makeup is more of an issue.

Overall, this is a great, basic line, especially for the price. I think anyone with combination to dry skin will be able to use this easily (if you have oily skin, maybe just use the emulsion, rather than both emulsion and cream). You'll even get a bit of anti-aging care, given the royal jelly (it protects against sun damage) and immortelle flower extract. I'll definitely be picking the toner and emulsion up from this line as finish the samples.